“The smell of lavender, like her perfume which she sprayed in hotel rooms, in rental cars, / like in Santa Fe where the wheels broke down and we finally faced the sky”

Members of the Review’s Editorial Board compile books that evoke moments of contemplation.

Reflecting upon homophobia in Korea—and its implications for those straddling two cultures.

“I stare at the back of Dad’s head as my anger fades and crumples into something I know, something paper-light that I can refold.”

“Mount onto freedom like a finally uncaged creature. / Know your mind and its terrible tendency to deceive you.”

“I wish to cling to an Immortal to roam, to catch the brilliant moon and live forever. I know this cannot be and so I entrust this fading echo to the sorrowful wind.”

“When I was five, I met my doppleganger. She had my name, my blond hair, and my tumbling way of speaking.”